


you're walking a wire between pain and desire, and looking for love in-between

by dvntldr



Series: DC Legends of Tomorrow Prompts [5]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Miranda Coburn is a Badass, Miranda Coburn-centric, RipFic, fuck the time masters tbh, hunterburn deserved better, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:08:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22065280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvntldr/pseuds/dvntldr
Summary: “The way he/she watches you...he’d take a bullet for you.”“Is that a bad thing?”
Relationships: Miranda Coburn/Rip Hunter
Series: DC Legends of Tomorrow Prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588114
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	you're walking a wire between pain and desire, and looking for love in-between

“I really don’t think this is a good idea.” She rolls her eyes at his words, patting him comfortingly on the cheek as she drags him down the street—despite her deceptively-diminutive frame, she does make sure to keep herself in shape, and it doesn’t hurt that her fiancé isn’t exactly trying to run away.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the big bad humans.” He sputters at that, face pinking, but sighs and nods anyways. She smiles fondly at the resigned look on his face, getting on her tippy-toes so she can kiss him. It’s a cold February night, but his arms wrap around her tightly and suddenly the chill doesn’t seem to affect her all that much. 

“You’re devious, you know that? I can never say no to you.” Her lips quirk up in sly acknowledgement, and he chuckles against her mouth, one hand coming up to card through her messy locks. She doesn’t usually have her hair down, but tonight is a special occasion and besides, he likes her with it down, if only to be able to play with it. 

“I’m aware. It’s why you like me so much.” He doesn’t have anything to refute that, and so she pulls back and links their hands together, giving him one last teasing smile before leading him into a bar. The place is well-lit and the fireplace is roaring merrily, but the warmth that blooms in her chest is entirely unrelated to the heat. 

“Miranda! This is the lucky guy, eh?” Dean beams, slapping her back in easy camaraderie—she grins back at him from over Kate’s shoulder, hugging her friend tight before letting go. 

“My fiancé, Rip Hunter.” She introduces, bouncing up on her toes enthusiastically—it’s been so long since they’ve all managed to gather in one place, and it’s even better with Rip here. He still looks a little uncertain, but she nudges him gently, looping her pinky with his in silent comfort. He’s never been the best at meeting new people and making first impressions, not to mention how much of a loner he is in general, so the fact that he’s willing to meet her friends means far more to her than anything else. “Rip, this is Kate, Lizzie, Hestia, Dean and Jules. Be nice.” 

He gives her a mock-affronted look that she snickers at, but nods anyways. “Hello, all of you. I apologise that I hadn’t managed to make time to meet you all earlier, but my job—and Miranda—keep me quite busy most of the time.” Miranda whacks him on the shoulder with a pout, flushing brightly at the subtle accusation, but doesn’t deny it. As much as she’d wanted him to meet her friends, she’d also wanted to keep him all to herself whenever he managed to take time off to visit her. 

“Well, I gotta say you really know how to pick ‘em. Handsome over here interested in a threesome sometime soon?” Jules drawls questioningly, lips twitching as he looks Rip up and down suavely—Miranda just laughs at the alarmed look on Rip’s face, not worried in the slightest about his loyalties. She’s not all that much of the jealous type and Jules isn’t a homewrecker, but even if they were, Rip would never look at anyone besides her. Just as she’d known he would, he brings her hand up to kiss the back of it, elicting a pleased squeal from Lizzie. 

“Sorry to disappoint, but Miranda’s the only person I’ve ever been interested in. I love her and only her,” he finishes simply, and she can’t help but swing around and kiss him fiercely for that the instant the last syllable comes out of his mouth—he startles at the suddenness of it, but doesn’t hesitate to dip his head to return it just as passionately, as if he’s forgotten they’re in public. Her Rip has always been the solitary, private type, which makes this victory all the more sweeter. 

Jules shrugs, downing a shot without so much as a flinch. “Worth a try,” he deadpans with a wink to Miranda—she simply cuffs him ‘round the ear gently, earning an aggravated squawk. “Violent tendencies, woman!” 

“Awe, you two are adorable!” Lizzie cheers, flinging her arms ‘round Rip once he and Miranda part—her fiancé looks entirely unsure of how to approach this odd situation, and Miranda bursts out into laughter, fumbling eagerly with her camera to snap a photo of Rip’s lost expression. Lizzie has always been tactile and it’s amusing to watch Rip attempt to push her away without being overtly rude. “You’re like a fairytale couple!”

“Thank...you...?” Rip answers, more than a little confused as Hestia eyes him sharply, dark-brown eyes narrowed and judging. She’s always been protective of Miranda, something that she appreciates but can get quite tiring after a while. 

“So, Mr. Hunter.” Rip immediately responds to the steely tone, his back straightening and settling into a loose, but intimidating stance—he’s never responded to direct challenges well. Miranda glances at him worriedly, wondering whether she should break it up before he can get truly defensive, but decides not to interfere. Hestia truly is a good friend, just a little overbearing at times. “How long have you been with Miranda?” 

He settles for the cover they had made together, lying smoothly and cleanly. His silver tongue has gotten him out of more trouble with the Time Council than she can count on both hands. “Since college. We met in our first year and got together in our second—we both received scholarships and I graduated at 19, while she and her family moved away and had to receive her schooling elsewhere.”

“So you’ve been dating her for five years? Why didn’t you make a move before now?”

“We lost contact for a while after she moved, but found each other again later on. We were rebuilding our relationship and I wanted to respect her decision when she told me that she wanted to complete her higher education before taking any more steps. Miranda means the world to me, and I would _never_ do anything she didn’t want me to. Losing her, even for those few months where we were apart, was the most unbearable pain I’ve ever felt, and now that she’s by my side again, I find that loving her has never been more easy.” He tilts his head down at her, giving her the adoring, worshipping smile he’s always reserved for her and her only. “I have to admit that my life has never been very peaceful, and love is something rather foreign to me, but although I might not be familiar with love, I’m relatively sure it feels a lot like Miranda. She’s my everything—she will _always_ be my everything, always, so never question my devotion to her.”

Following his impromptu mini-speech, there’s silence—even the bartender, who had been very unsubtly listening in, looks shell-shocked. Hestia is the first to move, striding over to Rip to pull him into an approving hug. This time, he willingly leans into it, but his hand remains in Miranda’s, solid, constant. “I’m trusting you to take care of her, Hunter. Lord knows she can’t do it herself.”

“Hey!” Miranda protests, only to huff at the round of laughter that too-true statement had garnered. Still, the love that had welled up in her heart only doubles when Rip’s hand tightens on hers, and she kisses him once more, eyes flashing with the promise of more to come later before she pulls away to order a round of drinks from the bartender. Dean pulls her fiancé away, probably to talk about cars, and she settles next to Kate while accepting the mojito offered to her by the bartender, sipping at it slowly. 

“Is he...you know, military?” Lizzie asks curiously, nudging her. Miranda hesitates, lifting a careless shoulder before dropping it. “The way he moved when ‘Tia confronted him...my brother was Navy, you know? I can see it.”

“Thereabouts, yes. He’s a special branch, very confidential stuff. He can’t even tell me half the things he does, thanks to the contracts he’s signed.”

“Isn’t it hard, having him not home so often?” Kate chips in, dark eyes concerned for her. She doesn’t want to lie and say that she _isn’t_ lonely without him, but she does have a life of her own, friends to while away the time with and a job to keep herself busy. 

“Sometimes, but he’s...he’s special. I know he’ll always come back to me—only the end of the world could keep that man from me, and even then I’m sure he’d find a way to turn back time.” She snickers at her own private joke before softening abruptly. “He’s really one of a kind, you know. I never have to worry about him being unfaithful. I know that he’d never do that to me; he’d sooner die. He’s the only person I’ve ever been with and I don’t know whether this kind of love is normal, but with him...I love him so much it hurts sometimes.” 

“I can see that.” Hestia smirks at her before turning her gaze on the trio of men. Miranda follows her line of sight to see her Rip comfortably making small-talk, hands clutching a mug of ale. He looks at her through lowered lashes, as if he’d known she was looking at him (he probably _did_ know—his situational awareness is something that couldn’t be trained out of him), and the small, loving quirk of his lips is enough to make her want to drag him back home and kiss him so hard his head would spin. “The way he looks at you...Miranda, he’d take a bullet for you.”

“Is that a bad thing?” She asks rhetorically before sobering at the pointed look Hestia gives her. Her hands tighten on her glass and she exhales slowly, tilting her head to the side and studying the deep grooves on the counter. “I would die for him, and he would for me. Isn’t that what love is? My love for him doesn’t make me _weak,_ ‘Tia. It makes me strong.” 

“What would happen if he left?” Miranda’s head jerks to glare at Kate, who looks apologetic but pursues the topic anyways. “Died, I mean. Miranda, I know better than anyone what loving someone that intensely is like. If you lose him…”

“You know, I always thought there were only ever two kinds of love. The kind you would kill for, and the kind you would die for; but Rip…he’s the kind I would live for.” Miranda answers easily. There’s a prickling sensation in the back of her neck and she smiles up at Rip as his strong arms wrap around her from behind. 

“Believe me, my darling, it would take a Time Demon to part me from you.” He teases lightly, kissing her cheek—she snorts at the subtle joke hidden in his words, amused by the way his stunning green eyes dance with disguised mischief. He can be such a child sometimes, especially when he lets his guard down and allows himself to fully relax, but she loves it just as much as his stoic persona. 

“Is that a Doctor Who thing?” Jules asks, wrinkling his nose in disgust and ducking neatly to avoid Lizzie’s slap. “Nerds, the lot of you.”

“As if you don’t have a crush on David Tennant,” Lizzie retorts immediately, putting her hands on her hips—Rip smirks as he lifts her up and settles her on his lap while the others argue loudly. Miranda’s cheeks are dusted pink, but she doesn’t complain, simply twisting around to kiss him thoroughly. 

“You have good friends. I’m glad you have them,” Rip says quietly, wistfully—Miranda frowns at the bereft look on his face, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek lovingly. She knows he gets lonely too, on the long nights after difficult missions that he can’t come straight back to curl up in bed next to her for comfort, knows exactly how cold the other side of the bed feels when you’re alone. Rip may have grown up a pickpocketing cutpurse, may have grown up starved and homeless, but she’s dealt with her own fair share of hardships; not all Refuges had been as homely as the one Mary Xavier had run. 

“Dear, you have me and you’ll always have me. I know it’s hard sometimes, but you always come back to me in the end. I’ll never leave you—I love you far too much to.” He looks at her, then, and the insecure look in his eyes is enough to make her lean forward to kiss his brow in an attempt to smooth the frown off his face, wanting nothing more than to make sure he’s never alone again. 

“Promise?” Rip asks quietly, and she smiles and kisses him in answer, sealing their lips together in a vow she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to uphold, but is certain that she’ll die trying. 

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> because rip hunter’s happiest moment in all three seasons was the episode Marooned, when he was with miranda, and nobody can complete him the way miranda can—lowkey hurts to see them so happy and remember what happened to her but :/
> 
> miranda coburn didn’t deserve to die & hunterburn is the og ship thanks for coming to my ted talk
> 
> as always, comments and kudos fuel me!


End file.
